Naruto Next Generation
by mesia31495
Summary: The Naruto generation have all grown up. The next generation is stepping up to take their parents place. But each new shinobi will come across hardships that they must overcome.
1. Chapter 1

Episode 1: The New Generation

"Today we'll start with shuriken training," Asahi sensei started, "Everyone head outside." Everyone stood up and followed Asahi. I glanced over at Kyou Uchiha, Suoh Uchiha, and Katsuo Uchiha. My friend, Suki Uchiha, walked over to me. She's the sister of the Uchiha brothers.

"Hey, Ayame," she said. Suki has black hair and turquoise colored eyes. Her parents are Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha.

"Hey Suki," I said, glancing over at her brothers, "Why aren't they following?" Suki looked over.

"Asahi Sarutobi sensei said they could sit out since they're so far ahead."

"That's not fair," I crossed my arms, "I wanna sit out too!" I sat down on the ground. Asahi sensei walked over. He had spiky black hair and red eyes.

"What are you doing, Ayame?" he asked.

"If they don't have to train then I don't either." Asahi looked puzzled for a moment.

"I guess that's not really fair," He put his finger on his chin, "Hm…" Everyone started to surround us. Asahi looked at everyone, "What do you guys think? Is it fair that the Uchiha boys don't have to practice since they're so far ahead?"

"I think it is!" Kaida Inuzuka yelled. I glared at her. Stupid fan girl. She looked at her friend Satomi Uzumaki, "Don't you think?" Satomi played with her fingers.

"Well…um…I-I guess so." She said. I waved it away.

"Don't listen to those losers," I said, "Come on Asahi sensei. That's not fair at all. Why do we have to get scratched up and dirty but they don't? That's the opposite of fair. That's totally un-cool, believe it."

"You would know un-cool, loud mouth." My eye twitched, "Anyway if you were the Uchiha brothers would you want to redo all of this?"

"Y-yeah, I-I agree with Kaida," Satomi said. I looked at Suki.

"My brothers wouldn't mind the extra training," Suki said, "They want all the practice they can get." I nodded my head and then glared at Kaida.

"See loser," I said, "I know the Uchiha better than you so I know what they like and what they don't so beat it and get friends with backbones."

"What did you say? At least she knows how to shut her mouth!" I stood up and glared at her. Asahi held her at bay. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"That's enough you two," Asahi sensei said, "I've come to a conclusion." We all looked at him, "We'll see what they want to do." Everyone looked at them. Some of their fan girls gathered around with hearts in their eyes. I rolled my eyes and looked at Shinji Nara

"This is all such a drag," Shinji said, "I just want to go home and go to bed." I poked his cheek.

"That's all you ever want to do, Shinji," I teased. His face went red.

"Whatever." He shoved his hands in his pocket. I giggled and focused on the Uchiha brothers.

"So what do you three want to do?" Asahi asked. Kyou lazily shrugged.

"I don't really care," He said. Kyou had spiked up hair similar to his fathers but had turquoise eyes like his mother.

"We need all the training we can get," Suoh said, "So I say sure." Suoh has onyx eyes and reddish colored hair that's spiky but down.

"Whatever," Katsuo said. He has black hair too but it's down and his eyes are dark blue.

"I guess you guys are training then," Asahi sensei said, "Let's go everyone." I stuck my tongue out and pulled my eye lid down at Kaida. I win.

This time we actually made it to the training grounds. Everyone surrounded Asahi and waited for instructions. My eyes searched for one person in particular who always seems to disappear. My eyes finally landed on Daitaro Uzumaki. He has black spiky hair and blue eyes. He was running towards us. I skipped over to him and saw that mutt Kaida.

"What are you doing over here, big mouth?" Kaida asked.

"I'm talking to my friend, mutt," I said, shoving her out of the way, "Hey Dai. Why are you so late?" Kaida shoved me this time.

"You missed a very good discussion," Kaida said. I bit her hand, "And you're calling me a mutt?" I ignored her. She's such a little kid.

"So what took ya, Dai?" He scratched the back of his head.

"You know," He said, "My mom was yelling at me because I didn't clean up my room and then dad went Hokage on me and made me clean it up." He looked at Satomi, "You're lucky you didn't have to hear that. Mom almost gave me a heart attack. I tried to tell her it was clean and she cheated and used her Byakugan and made me do it. I swear, it's hard being a Hyuga and an Uzumaki." I giggled.

"Maybe you'll learn to clean your room," I said.

"Yeah, probably not," he said. That mutt giggled and nudged Satomi. She sighed. What's she planning?

"A-are you still…coming to spend the night?" Satomi asked Kaida. Oh, that's so not cool.

"Of course I am!" Kaida said, "I wouldn't want to miss out on the fun night with you two!" I chuckled.

"Oh yeah," I said, looking at Dai, "Aren't you hanging out with Suoh after class?"

"Oh yeah," Dai said, "I forgot. I'm also staying over there."

"That's so cool, I am too!" I sent a mischievous grin towards Kaida. She rolled her eyes. Everyone looked at the class.

"We better get over there, Taro," Kaida said, grabbing Dai and joining the class. I bit my lip. Dang her. I shrugged and looked around. Suki was training with Suoh. That left me out of a partner. I frowned.

"What's wrong?" someone said from behind me. I looked over my shoulder. It was Kyou, "You're usually not this quiet."

"I don't have a partner," I said.

"Neither do I." I looked over. Katsuo was training with Satomi. I sighed.

"Wanna be partners?" I grumbled.

"I don't care," he said. I stomped over to a post and grabbed some shuriken. Kyou walked over and took some. He easily hit the target. I huffed and looked over. Dai was helping Kaida with her shuriken. I growled and tossed the shuriken. They all missed the target. Kyou shook his head.

"You're such a loser," He said. I gave him the nastiest look I could.

"Yeah, whatever," I said, "I'm outta here." I jumped over the fence and ran away. Stupid Inuzuka brat. I turned sharply to the left and found Shinji, Suki and my hideout. Shinji was laying on a log and staring up at the clouds. I jabbed him in his stomach. He jumped and looked at me with a bored expression on his face.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"For beating me here," I said, "Usually I'm here first."

"Dai was here," he said.

"How do you know?" He pointed behind me. I turned around. Carved into the tree was 'Dai was here'. I face palmed.

"That little liar. He said his mom and dad made him clean his room."

"The Hokage's not even here. He went to talk to the Kazekage." An anger mark popped on my forehead, "And Hinata's out on a mission. So he was…"

"He was _skipping_. Oh, I'm going to kill him."

"I don't want any part of it." I sighed and sat down on a log.

"Is class over yet?"

"Yes," Someone said from behind us, "But you two decided to leave early." Shinji and I froze. Oh boy. We turned around and Asahi was standing there with a frown on his face.

"S-sorry sensei," We said. He shook his head and smiled.

"Come on you two," he said, "Let's go get some ramen." Suki popped her head out from behind him. We smiled and joined them. We all walked to Ichiraku's.

"You guys really need a new hideout," Asahi said, "I found it months ago and you still skip there."

"Yeah, well, we don't have many options," I said.

"We could go to my house," Suki said, "Oh, wait, never mind. My mom would kill us."

"Yeah, probably," I said, "Your mom is scary."

"Aren't all girls?" Shinji asked in his bored tone. Asahi laughed.

"You guys are really mature for eleven year olds," Asahi said.

"And you're a push over," I said, "But cool for a 17 year old." Asahi smiled and ruffled my short, brown hair.

"Thank you Ayame," he said. I slapped at his hand.

"Ew, gross. This is so not cool." Asahi and Suki laughed. Shinji sighed.

"My friends are so strange," He said. I smiled and pulled his cheek.

"Cheer up Shinji," I said, "In one more year, we're going to be ninja."

"Yay," he said unenthused. I giggled.

"Don't sound too excited, Shinji."

"I'm sorry. I was going for the opposite." I tugged on his hair.

"Well, I'm sorry that you're lazy."

"Ow, ow, ow," he slapped my hand away, "Stop doing that." Suki and I laughed.

"What am I going to do with you guys?" Asahi asked. We all smiled up at him.

"You can start by buying us ramen," I said, "From there, we will see." Asahi sighed and opened the door to Ichiraku's. Apparently it used to be a small shack but after the destruction of the Hidden Leaf they rebuilt it. Now it's a nice sized restaurant. Asahi guided us to a table. Older Ayame walked over.

"Hello guys," she started, "What do you guys want today?"

"Miso Pork please!" I exclaimed.

"I forgot you're a fan of the Hokage's," Asahi said.

"Of course I am! He's only the most awesome person to have ever existed! I'm going to grow up and be just like him. Just you wait! I'm going to be the seventh Hokage, believe it!"

"You even stole his old catch phrase."

"I didn't steal it. I borrowed it. Get it right, sensei." Everyone else ordered.

"Hey sensei, I have a big problem," someone said. I looked and it was the Inuzuka brat. I narrowed my eyes at her. What's that thing in her hands? Ahahaha. She has a puppy. I guess she couldn't make human friends so she had to get a dog. What a loser.

"What is it, Kaida?" Asahi asked.

"Well you see, my puppy here is really hungry but I don't have enough money to get him any food." The dog whimpered.

"How is that his problem?" I asked. She glared at me.

"Well, he's my sensei and he's supposed to make sure I'm okay and well Haru is kinda like a part of me now." She looked at Satomi.

"I-it's true," She said.

"He's off duty so he doesn't have to," I said.

"Oh yeah, then why is he buying you ramen?" Kaida asked.

"Because I'm cool and you're not." She rolled her eyes.

"Sure you are. Is that why Taro likes me better?" She looked at Satomi, "Isn't that right Tomi?" That little annoying shadow of hers nodded.

"Well, 'Tomi' is lying and says anything that you want her to say. But, I'm not teasing because she's the daughter of the coolest guy alive and I respect her for that." I covered my nose, "And you stink so why would Dai ever like a mutt like you?" Shinji scooted away from me.

"Not in this," Shinji said. Suki looked uninterested. Asahi was just waiting for one of us to try and rip the others head off.

"Well Taro wouldn't ever like you 'cause you don't know how to shut your big, fat, stupid mouth." I opened and closed my mouth.

"Did you see that?" I asked, "I closed it."

"Taro wouldn't be interested in someone as childish as you either."

"He wouldn't want someone as ugly as you either. Oh, and by the way, lose some pounds. It's starting to show."

"Oh boy," Shinji said, "Why do I even try anymore?" He looked at Asahi, "You gonna stop it?"

"I don't see anything wrong," he said, "They're not trying to kill each other. Yet."

"What did you say you, you hippo?" She yelled, "You're the one who needs to lose weight. Every time I see you, you're stuffing your face with some kind of food."

"I like food," I said, "Food is good. Food keeps me healthy. Did you keep up with that, dog brain?"

"At lease I have a brain." She grabbed Shinji, "Come on Shinji." I grabbed his other arm when she tried to pull him away.

"I'm sorry but he came here with me," I said, pulling him towards me.

"Hey, those are connected to me," he said, "They aren't stretchy." Asahi stood up and freed Shinji, "I thought I was gonna lose my arms there for a second."

"This is getting out of hand," Asahi said, "It started out as a rivalry but now you two act like bitter enemies. This has got to come to an end." He reached into his pocket. He gave Kaida some money, "Buy him something from the shop down the street. They have good dog food there. I'll see you in class tomorrow." I stuck my tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Come on Satomi," She said, "There's too much trash in here." She started pulling her out then stopped and said good bye to Shinji. Once she was gone, I leaned back.

"Look at that," I said, "The trash took itself out." No one laughed. I sighed and ate my ramen that finally arrived.

Later that day, Suki and I went to her house. She walked right in.

"Mom, dad, I'm home!" She yelled, "I brought Ayame with me!" I followed her to the kitchen. Sakura was making dinner and Sasuke was holding baby Asuka and reading a report. Daisuke, Suki's older brother, was wearing his anbu uniform and also reading a report. Suoh was helping his mom with dinner while Kyou and Katsuo were studying their jutsu. I slapped Katsuo in the back of his head. He sent a nasty glare my way.

"Loser," He muttered. I smiled.

"That's me," I said. Daisuke chuckled.

"You always seem to lighten up the atmosphere," he said.

"No, she annoys everyone in the house," Kyou corrected. Sakura turned around and threw a spoon at him.

"Be nice to her," She said. Kyou silently mocked her.

"Kyou," Sasuke warned. Kyou shut his mouth. I pointed at him and laughed.

"Busted," I laughed. Asuka started crying. Sasuke shot me a look, "Sorry." I took Asuka from him and started rocking her, "Poor, poor baby. I'm sorry you have such a weird family." Asuka giggled.

"You're the only weird thing in here," Kyou muttered. Sakura threw a spoon at him.

"I said be nice," she said. Kyou sighed.

"I'm going to my room." Kyou stood up and grabbed his things, "There's too many distractions."

"There's only one thing distracting you," Daisuke said. Kyou paused and then continued to his room.

"What is it?" I asked, snuggling Asuka, "What's distracting him?" Everyone looked at me for a second and then continued with what they were doing. I shrugged it off and handed the sleeping, pink haired, baby to Sasuke.

"Hey Daisuke," I started. He looked at me, "Can you help me with my shuriken training after dinner?"

"Can't your sister help you?" Daisuke asked. My eyes fell.

"She's never home anymore."

"Then sure." He smiled.

"Thanks, Daisuke." There was a knock at the door.

"That's probably Daitaro," Suoh said.

"Naruto's son?" Sasuke questioned. Everyone nodded silently, "Sakura?"

"I said he could stay over," Sakura said, "Suoh and him are friends."

"Now we have two loud mouths staying over. Fun." Sasuke stood up, "Just don't wake Asuka up." He left. Sakura sighed.

"Those two really need to get along," Sakura mumbled, "You mind getting the door, Ayame."

"No problem, Sakura," I said. I happily skipped to the door. I opened it. Daitaro was waiting patiently.

"Hey Ayame," Dai said, "I didn't know you were here already."

"Suki and I came over as soon as we were done eating Ichiraku ramen."

"Was it good?" I nodded, "Is Asuka sleeping?"

"Yep, I put her to sleep after I woke her up." Dai smiled.

"Of course you did." He walked in and we both went into the kitchen. Suoh looked at his mom and she nodded. He jerked his head towards his room and Dai understood. They both walked to his room, "See you at dinner, Aya." He disappeared into Suoh's room. I sighed.

"You like him, don't you?" Sakura asked. My face heated up.

"No!" I said.

"She's lying, mom," Suki said. I glared at her, "Sorry. I'm not allowed to lie." Sakura laughed.

"You remind me of myself when I was younger. I was madly in love with Sasuke but he didn't find me the least bit interesting."

"Really?" I questioned, "What changed?"

"I don't really know. All I know is that one day, I found him passed out on the side of the road. He was beat up and hurt so I healed him. The next day he was acting strange and then next thing I know he's asking me to help him with a problem of his. I didn't know what he was talking about. Then he kissed me and well, you know. We got married and had kids." She shrugged, "No big deal." My face flushed.

"That's so romantic," I said. Sakura smiled.

"Yeah I guess." She looked at the silent Katsuo, "Will you set the table?" He nodded and stood up. He moved to the cupboard and got plates and silverware. I looked at Suki.

"Wanna go study or something? Dinner won't be ready in awhile," She asked. I nodded and followed her to her room. We walked past Suoh's room and were coming towards Kyou's. I stopped. Suki looked at me.

"Don't," she said. I waved it away and kicked the door open.

"Watcha doin Kyou?" I yelled. Kyou was passed out on his bed. I frowned, "Well, that's no fun." I walked over to him and started shaking him, "Wake up!" He didn't flinch. I shook him harder, "UP, UP, UP, UP, UP!" He didn't move. I let him drop on his bed. I looked at Suki, "Yep. He's dead." She rolled her eyes.

"Come on before he wakes up."

"Fine." I shut the door and we walked to her room.

"Why do you always have to try and wake him up?"

"Because Kyou doesn't sleep at night. He dies and then comes back to life. It's a proven fact." Suki sighed.

"Sometimes I wonder why I ever became friends with you."

"Because I'm awesome."

The next day, Suki, Kyou, Suoh, Katsuo, Dai and I were walking to the academy. Suoh, Katsuo, and Kyou were walking ahead of us. Dai had his hands behind his head and a huge smile on his face.

"Wipe that cheesy grin off your face," I hissed.

"Not gonna happen," He said.

"You only beat me because I was distracted."

"No, I beat you because I'm better than you. Just admit it."

"You are good but I'm telling you, I was distracted. There was a suspicious squirrel looking at me. I couldn't not get distracted." Dai's smile grew even wider.

"Sure there was."

"You beat me in shuriken training because there was a squirrel." I looked at Suki, "Tell him."

"She was distracted but I don't think it was a squirrel," Suki said. I glared at her.

"Losers," Kyou said.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"You two are hopeless," Suoh said. I sniffed the air.

"I smell a mutt," I said. I looked ahead and saw Kaida, Satomi, and Shinji standing by a tree, "Oh course." I looked at Dai, "Your sister is over there." He looked.

"I guess she is," he said. I grabbed Katsuo and he glared at me.

"What?" he asked.

"I need you to do something for me." He waited, "I need you to distract them."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the talker of the group."

"Funny."

"Please Katsuo. For me?"

"No." I laughed and he sighed, "Fine." I hugged him and then shoved him over. He gave me a dirty look and then started talking to them.

"Why did you do that?" Suki asked.

"Because I needed a distraction," I said.

"A distraction for what?" Dai and Suki asked. I tip toed around the tree and found Shinji with a passed out Satomi.

"Well he wasn't supposed to do that," I muttered, "Oh well." I looked at Shinji.

"Come on," I said, "We're leaving."

"Why?" he asked.

"I'm saving you from the evil mutt. Now let's go."

"She's not evil and you're strange."

"Thanks for the compliment. Come on." I grabbed his hand and tugged him behind me.

"Shinji, watch out!" I heard Kaida yell. I turned around and that ugly brown mutt came around the corner. He stuck his butt into the air and growled at me.

"Shut up," I hissed. Too late. Kaida came around the tree and scooped up the little snitch.

"What did that mean lady do to you?" Kaida asked the dog.

"_Me_! I didn't do anything to that thing! He just ran his little butt over and started barking like a maniac. I guess he is a part of you after all. Crazy and all." Shinji rubbed the back of his head.

"I give up," he sighed, "Every time I think it's going to be a peaceful day, you guys run into each other and stuff like this happens. Man, life is such a drag." Everyone walked over. I glared at Katsuo.

"Good job by the way," I said.

"Whatever," He said. Dai kneeled down next to Satomi.

"What happened to her?" He asked.

"It's a long story," Kaida said. I looked up in the sky.

"Class is starting soon," I said, "We better get going." I looked at Kaida, "You can stay behind though." Kaida's dog hopped out of her hands and then stopped next to me. Then he lifted up his leg and peed on me. I screeched and kicked the dog away.

"Animal abuser," Kaida said, walking away.

"He peed on me!" I yelled at her, "Your mangy mutt peed on me." I looked down at my soaking wet shoes and pant legs and tears weld up in my eyes. Suoh shook his head and started for class. Katsuo looked at me and then followed. I looked at Suki.

"I'm not touching pee," she said, "But I'll go get some towels." She ran off. I looked at Dai. He smiled.

"At least he didn't do number two," He said.

"That's so not cool," I said. I turned away from him and squished away. Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. I tripped over a rock and just sat there and buried my face in the ground and cried. What did I ever do to her? She's the one who always tries to be better than me. I didn't do anything but move to this village. It's not my fault.

"Stop crying," someone said. I looked up. Kyou had his hand stretched out for me to grab, "I'll take you home."

"But you'll be late for class," I said. He shrugged.

"I'm ahead." I wiped my tears away and took his hand.

"Thanks Kyou."

"Whatever."


	2. Chapter 2

Episode 2: New Genin

"Ayame!" mom called, "Time to get up!" I groaned but got out of bed. I lazily went to the bathroom and tuned on the shower. The hot water felt good. After I finished, I put on my red shirt and white shorts. I yawned and brushed through my long brown hair. I am so tired. After I finished with my hair, I walked out and passed a calendar. I paused and looked at it. Finally! It's the day of our final exam. I jumped up and down excitedly and ran downstairs.

"Mom!" I yelled, "Are you coming today?" I slid around the corner. Dad was sitting down at the table, "Oh. Hey Dad. I didn't know you were here. Does that mean you're coming too?" Dad nodded. I smiled, "Yes! Don't worry guys, I'll pass for sure. I've been training really hard."

"That's my girl," Dad said. I ran over and kissed him on the forehead.

"See you guys later." I ran out of the house and ran to my old hideout. Shinji and Suki were waiting there. The hideout wasn't in good shape. The logs were kind of tired and wood was peeling off. There were numerous things etched into the trees. They both looked at me.

"It's about time," Suki said, "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up."

"Why would I miss the most important day of my life? Today, I become a genin and tomorrow we get assigned to teams. Hopefully we're a team."

"But there's going to be one more person," Shinji said, "Now we have five man squads because there are too many new genin and not enough Jonin. It's so troublesome."

"Yeah, you're right," I said, "Hopefully we get Dai on our team. That would be so perfect!" I giggled, "Alright. Enough playing around. Let's go." They nodded and followed me to the academy. Asahi sensei was standing at the front of the classroom looking over some papers. We walked past him and took our seats. I sat in the far left corner of the room in between Kyou and Suki. Shinji was three aisles ahead and next to him were Satomi and Katsuo. Satomi was sitting next to Kaida (ew) who was sitting next to some random boy I don't know. Daitaro and Suoh were in the front of the classroom. The clock ticked into place indicating that class was starting.

"Alright everyone," Asahi started, "Today is your last day of being in class. After you all pass, you'll all be genin." Everyone in the class cheered, "First, you'll all be taking a short test about everything you learned. Then, we'll go outside and check how well you are with your shuriken. Then finally, we have a test over how well you are with your ninjutsu. Does anyone have any questions?" I raised my hand, "Yes, Ayame."

"Which jutsu are we being tested over?" I asked.

"It's a random selection for each of you so I can't tell you which one you will be tested over." Well, it's a 50:50 chance. You'll either get the clone jutsu or the transformation jutsu. I'm pretty good at both, "Any one else have any questions?" No one spoke up, "Alright then. I'll hand out the tests now. Don't forget to put your name on it." Asahi walked around and handed everyone a test, "You may begin." I stared down at mine. Okay. These are easy.

Question 1: What is chakra? The force we exert in order to use jutsu.

Question2: How many chakra gates are located in the body? There are eight.

Question 3: How many chakra points are there? 361

Question 4… I spaced out and automatically started filling in answers. These are all so easy and simple. Even Asuka could answer these. I finished and waited patiently. I looked around the room. Shinji was doodling on his paper. I sweat dropped. He's gonna fail. Kyou was finished too. His face was emotionless as he stared ahead. I shook my head and looked at Suki. She was drawing little hearts all over her paper. What's that about? Kaida was finished too. I bet she cheated. Dai seemed like he was cool and totally knew all the answers but I bet he was freaking out on the inside. He's not very good with tests.

After an hour, Asahi collected the tests and we all went outside. Everyone lined up. Kyou was first. Asahi sensei gave him five shuriken. In the blink of an eye, all five shuriken hit their targets. There was one on a post, one on the ground underneath a bush, two in trees and one behind a rock. Kyou walked past with his hands shoved in his pockets and his eyes closed.

"Show off," I muttered. He paused, shook his head, and stepped to the side. Suoh and Katsuo did the same thing. Their little performance had all the girls squealing.

"Stupid fan girls," someone else and I said. I looked behind me and saw that it was Kaida. We eyed each other and then I huffed and turned back around. Next in line was Suki. She jumped into the air. Her short black hair whipped around as she tossed the shuriken easily. She landed gracefully on the ground and then looked up at Asahi.

"Good job, Suki," Asahi sensei said, "Very majestic." Suki nodded and stood next to her brothers. Of course she had to be good I mean she is an Uchiha. I gave her a smile.

"Yeah, they were good," I turned my head and looked at Dai, "But I'll be ten times better!"

"Ah man," Shinji complained, "We're going to be here all day."

"Shush!" I hissed. Shinji sighed.

"Who's the fan girl now?" I sent a glare his way. He put his hands up defensively.

"Smart." I focused on Dai. He turned around and flashed everyone a smile. His fangs glittered in the sunshine. My face heated up. He is so cute. He turned around.

"Alright, here I go," Dai said. He jumped into the air and threw his shuriken. Everyone stood silently. Then the class started laughing. I face palmed. Dai hit his targets but in non lethal spots.

"Uh…ha, ha!" Dai laughed, "I was just practicing guys." I face palmed again, "I'll do it for real this time." Asahi stopped him.

"No, that's alright Daitaro," Asahi sensei said, taking the shuriken, "We only have enough time for everyone to go once. You did a good job though." Dai suddenly got depressed.

"Yeah, yeah," Dai said, "Whatever." Dai stood about two feet away from the Uchiha siblings. I heard a sigh from Shinji. I looked at him. He was shaking his head.

"And you're obsessed with this guy?" He said.

"Aha, ha, ha," I scoffed, shoving him forward, "It's your turn mister sarcasm."

"Ah man." He stepped forwards and Asahi gave him the shuriken. Shinji scratched the back of his head, "This is such a drag. Shuriken training is such a pain." With a flick of his wrist, all of the shuriken hit the targets but not in lethal spots.

"Good job Shinji," Asahi sensei said, "You may not hit any lethal spots but at least you hit them." Asahi began writing something on his paper. Shinji put his hand up to stop him, "What is it?" Shinji pointed to the targets.

"I may not have hit any lethal points but I did hit vital points." Everyone checked the targets, "Each spot I hit would either slow down the enemy or paralyze him. Killing them would just be troublesome."

"Very good, Shinji," Asahi said, "You pass." Shinji shrugged. I high fived him as he joined the rest of the passing students. I heard Asahi cough. I looked at him, "Your turn." I stepped forward. Asahi sensei placed the shuriken in my hand. I looked at him. He nodded. I sighed. Okay. Focus. Shuriken is my worse weapon. I'm best with senbon and kunai. Shuriken on the other hand, I fail at. I took in a deep and threw the shuriken. Three out of five hit fatal spots. The other two hit but not in lethal spots. I smiled faintly.

"Good job, Ayame," Asahi sensei said.

"I bet I can do better." Kaida said. She shoved past me and grabbed the shuriken. I held back my comment and stood next to Shinji. He was staring at a butterfly. I shook my head.

"You're so weird," I mumbled.

"Heard that," he said, "And that's not true." We watched Kaida. All but one shuriken hit lethal points. She looked at Dai. I turned away. Shinji jabbed me in my stomach. I glared at him. He was looking away from me, "Stop letting her get to you." I stared at the ground.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I looked back up and Satomi was going. Satomi only hit two targets. Finally, a girl with white hair was going. I think her name is Kanaye Hatake. She took the shuriken and stared at them for a moment. Then I blinked and they were all pinned into the hearts. I blinked a few times and then looked at Shinji.

"What just happened?" I asked. He was staring off into space.

"She hit the targets dead on," he said.

"I can see that but _how?_"

"Weren't you paying attention?" I grabbed his ponytail and tugged.

"Stop playing around and tell me already!"

"Ow, ow, ow. Okay, fine." I let go, "Geez. Anyway, she's the daughter of Kakashi Hatake, the Hokage's sensei so of course she's going to be good."

"Oh really? Hm… why are there so many famous students enrolled here?" Shinji shrugged. Suki came over.

"She's good," Suki said, "She's the daughter of my father and mother's old sensei. Maybe I should try and talk to her." I looked over. Kaida was attempting to talk to her. Kanaye looked at her and walked away.

"I don't think she's the talking type," I said, pointing at Kaida. Suki looked.

"I guess not," Suki looked at me, "Did you know she also has a brother around our age. I think he's a year or two older."

"What about him?"

"He's already made Jonin." My eyes widened and my mouth hung low.

"WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?" Shinji covered my mouth.

"Asahi's looking over here," he said. I bit his hand. I instantly started gagging.

"What the hell Shinji?" I coughed, "What were you doing? Digging in the dirt?" He looked away.

"Maybe." I spit the taste out of my mouth.

"_Gross!_" Shinji shrugged. I popped a mint into my mouth and looked at Suki, "That's impressive. Fourteen or fifteen and already Jonin. I wonder if I can do that."

"You couldn't even hit all of the targets," Shinji started, "What makes you think…oof!" I punched him in his gut, "That…was…uncalled for." I crossed my arms.

"Okay everyone," Asahi sensei started, "Time for the final test." Everyone followed him back inside. Everyone sat down at their assigned seat and waited for instructions.

"We'll begin testing students who volunteer. After we run out of volunteers, I'll call names at random. Who would like to go…?" Dai's hand shot up. I sweat dropped. Leave it to him, "Okay Daitaro. You're first." Dai jumped up and followed Asahi into a room. Everyone started silently talking. Suki turned to me.

"Do you think he's going to pass?" She whispered.

"Of course he is," I said back, "He's the 6th Hokage's son. That makes him automatically great."

"Not really," Kyou said, "That makes him the son of the Hokage. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Someone's jealous," I mumbled. Kyou sent a glare my way. I brushed it off and turned back to Suki, "How about you? Do you think he will?" She shrugged.

"I don't care, honestly. I just hope…" She looked nervously at Shinji. I smiled.

"Someone's still crushing on the Nara." We both looked at him. Kaida was throwing crumpled pieces of paper at him. I gave them both a flat look, "She's so immature." I muttered. Suki nodded her head furiously. I sighed, "Calm down. You activated your sharingan." Her eyes widened.

"Sorry," she said. Her crimson colored eyes changed back into the normal turquoise, "It only happens when I get mad." I leaned back in my chair.

"I know, I know. Just keep those feelings locked up. Your Uchiha blood boils too quickly. Just take deep breaths." She breathed in and breathed out.

"Thanks, Aya." She gave me a quick hug.

"Girls," Kyou muttered. I rolled my eyes. I looked over in time to see Kaida fist pumping. Okay? Weirdo's. The door to the other room opened. The room fell silent. Dai walked out with his head down. His bangs were covering his face so I couldn't see his emotion. I stood up.

"Dai…?" I started. He looked up suddenly and he had a huge smile on his face. He flashed everyone a thumbs up.

"I passed!" he exclaimed. He held up his Leaf Village headband and chuckled. I walked over to him and slammed my fist down on his head.

"YOU IDIOT!" I exclaimed, "You had me worried." He laughed.

"Sorry," He said, "Just trying to be suspenseful." I crossed my arms.

"Yeah, well, that wasn't cool." He chuckled and messed up my hair.

"I'm always cool." We smirked at each other.

"Anyway," Asahi started, "Who would like to…?" Dai grabbed my arm and lifted it into the air.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. Dai let go of my hand and took his seat. I looked around. My arm was still in the air so I shoved it behind my back.

"Thanks for volunteering, Ayame," Asahi said.

"B-but I didn't…" Asahi dragged me into the room. In the room was a desk. And OH MY GOD! THE HOKAGE WAS IN HERE! He had a huge smile on his face.

"Hello Ayame," Naruto started, "Are you ready to begin?" All of the heat rushed to my face and I was speechless.

"She's a big fan of yours, lord Hokage," Asahi said, "She also wants to become Hokage." Naruto laughed. It was a powerful laugh and it made my face grow even wider.

"Thank you Ayame-chan. It's always good to know the young people of our Village strive to become Hokage. Maybe one day you will." I almost fainted. Sitting in front of me is one of the greatest men to ever exist. I can't believe that Naruto Uzumaki is sitting here. Naruto has spiky blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. He is just so awesome. I bowed.

"Thank you, lord Hokage," I said, "I hope to become a great shinobi like you one day."

"No need to be so formal, Aya-chan. Just call me Naruto. You know my son and daughter, right?" I looked at him and nodded, "They talk about you every now and then." I scratched my cheek.

"Um…do you…do you think I could…maybe…get a picture…with you?" He smiled.

"I don't see why not." I squealed and ran over to him. Oh man. Calm down. I'm making myself look like an idiot. I took a deep breath. I handed Asahi my camera and stood next to Naruto. Naruto placed his hand delicately on top of my head and I blushed and faintly smiled for the camera. Asahi took the picture and tossed the camera back to me. I'll develop it later. For now, it's test time.

"Alright Ayame," Naruto started, "I want you to perform the clone jutsu and one jutsu you learned outside of class."

"Outside of class?" I questioned, "You mean like a family jutsu?" Naruto nodded. I glared at Asahi, "You didn't say…."

"Surprise," Asahi said. I deepened my glare. Naruto chuckled.

"I'm just trying to see what kind of talents the next generation of shinobi has," Naruto said. I erased the glare off of my face and looked at Naruto.

"I understand I guess," I mumbled.

"You may begin when you feel like it," Naruto said. I gulped and formed the hand sign. An identical copy of myself appeared in a puff of smoke. We high fived each other and then she poofed away.

"Good job," Asahi and Naruto said.

"Now for the other jutsu," Asahi said.

"Uh…the only other jutsu I know is kind of destructive," I admitted.

"That's fine," Naruto said, "We can take care of ourselves."

"O-okay." I started forming hand signs, "Fire Style: Fire Whip Jutsu." Fire formed in my hand and then started to shape into a whip. I spun it around and a fire vortex swirled around the room. It suddenly disappeared. I looked around.

"Very good, Aya-chan," Naruto said, "That was a very interesting and powerful jutsu. I had to use my wind jutsu to extinguish the flames." My face heated.

"I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. Asahi," They exchanged glances. Asahi nodded.

"Ayame Hayashi," Asahi started, "You pass. Congratulations on becoming a genin." My green eyes widened and I jumped and hugged Asahi. He chuckled, "Now that's more like the Ayame I know." I giggled. Asahi pulled something out of his pouch and handed it to me. I looked down at my Leaf Village headband. I tied it around my waist and looked at Naruto and Asahi.

"Good job, Aya-chan," Naruto said, "Today, you're an official Leaf Village Shinobi." A smile spread on my face.

"Thank you," I said, "Thank you so much." They both nodded. Asahi and I joined the rest of the class. I smiled at Suki and then Dai. He stood up and gave me a giant hug.

"Congrats," Dai said, "I knew you could do it."

"Thanks," I said, a blush forming on my cheeks, "I'm glad people believe in me." Suoh smiled. Kyou was staring off into space, Katsuo nodded and Shinji looked kind of irritated. I poked his chest.

"Are you jealous because I'm a genin and you're not?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"I could care less," Shinji said.

"Mhm, whatever." I walked back to my seat and sat down next to Suki.

"Good job," Suki said.

"Thank you," I said, "I hope we'll be on the same team."

"Yeah, you, me, Shinji and Dai. That would be great." I nodded.

"Who would like to go next?" Asahi asked. Six people raised their hands. It was Kyou, Suoh, Katsuo, Suki, Shinji and Kaida. I wonder who he's going to pick, "I'll go by alphabetical order. So, Kaida, you're up. Then Shinji, Katsuo, Kyou, Suki, and finally Suoh." Kaida followed Asahi into the room. I turned to Suki.

"I wonder who our sensei is going to be," I said.

"I hope we have a strong, reliable sensei. Someone like my parents sensei. He was a great Jonin." Asahi and Kaida came out. She smiled, held up her head band and sat down. Shinji sighed.

"Why did I volunteer again?" He asked aloud. Suki giggled.

"I don't believe you find that cute," I said. She playfully shoved me.

"I don't believe you find that hyperactive knucklehead cute," She retorted.

"Fine, fine. It's a tie. For now."

FF

"Congratulations everyone," Asahi started, "You are all now officially genin. Tomorrow you will all report back here and I'll assign you to your five man squad. Since there are so many new genin this year and not enough Jonin, we had to add an additional squad member. Each team will consist of four genin and one Jonin. Make sure to get a lot of rest tonight because some of you may be going on your first mission tomorrow. Class dismissed." Everyone stood up and ran out of the class. I shoved through kids looking for my parents. I found them standing near the back. I ran over to them and hugged them. I showed them my head band.

"That's my girl," Dad said, messing up my hair. Mom kissed my forehead.

"I knew you could do it," she said, "But why around your waist?" I shrugged.

"It seems cooler this way," I said. They both exchanged glances and then laughed.

"How about we celebrate by going out to Ichiraku's?" Dad asked. I nodded my head furiously, "And you can bring your friends." I turned around. Dai and Suki were standing behind me.

"Where are your parents?" I asked.

"Busy," They both said. Suki looked sad and Dai was hiding his emotions. I frowned.

"You know how dad is," Dai said, "He's Hokage so he's probably already off doing something. And mom is still on her mission."

"Dad was too busy with his anbu work and mom was at the hospital," Suki said.

"What about your brothers and your sister?" I asked.

"They don't care," Suki said.

"She's going with Kaida," Dai said.

"Oh, okay. Well then we'll just have the best party ever! Come on mom, dad, lets go!" I started walking away.

"Ichiraku is the other way, dear," Mom said. I stopped and turned the other way.

"I knew that!" They all sweat dropped and followed me to Ichiraku.

FF

The next day, I happily skipped to class. Suki, Kyou, Suoh, and Katsuo left their house before I arrived. They must've been in a hurry. I ran into the classroom. I glared at Shinji. He sighed.

"What did I do…?" I covered his mouth before he could finish.

"What did you do at the mutt's house?" I asked. He looked away and shrugged.

"Nothing…"

"Don't lie. I saw her drag you to her house. It had to be important."

"Wow. You watched her drag me to her house. You're a little creeper." I narrowed my eyes.

"Fine. Don't tell me. I'm not talking to you." I walked away.

"Fine by me. Now I won't have a headache." I sat down next to Suki. She punched my arm.

"OW!" I yelled, "What was that for?" She huffed and turned her head away, "Oh, so you're ignoring me now?" She nodded, "Gosh! Fine!" I looked at Shinji, "I'm sorry Lazy boy!" Shinji waved it away. I looked at Suki, "Happy now?" She nodded.

"Girls," Kyou muttered. I shook my head.

"Are you gay or something?" I asked him. He glared at me, "Just saying." Asahi walked in and everyone got quiet. I shook excitedly in my chair.

"Good morning," Asahi started, "How are…?"

"Shut up and get to the good part already!" I yelled. Asahi sighed.

"Alrighty then. We'll start class by assigning teams. Today will be everyone's last day in class so say good bye to your old friends and say hello to your new comrades." He grabbed a clip board and started assigning teams, "Team 6," Asahi called, "Kanaye Hatake, Shinji Nara, Suki Uchiha and…" I grabbed my desk. Please be me, please be me, "Satomi Uzumaki." I slammed my head against the desk. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I looked at Suki. She was happy yet sad.

"I'm sorry," She said, "Maybe you'll still be with Dai."

"I want to die," I mumbled.

"Team 7," Asahi called. I don't care, "Ayame Hayashi," I looked up. Now who? "Kaida Inuzuka,"

"WHAT?" Kaida and I yelled. We both glared at each other, "Asahi sensei, I don't want to be on her team." We both glared at each other again, "Stop saying everything I'm saying. No you! Ugh! See!" Static appeared in our eyes. I looked back at Asahi.

"You two are idiots," Kyou muttered. I glared at him.

"Daitaro Uzumaki and Kyou Uchiha," Asahi finished.

"What?" Kyou asked flatly. I pointed at him and started laughing.

"Ah ha Uchiha brat," I laughed. I looked at Suki, "No offense."

"None taken," She said.

"Who picks these teams anyway?" Kyou asked, "This is bogus. I call a redo."

"What?" Dai asked, "Afraid I'll wipe the floor with you?" They glared at each other. I punched Kyou.

"You knock that off!" I yelled. He glared at me.

"Whatever," He mumbled, "Just don't get in my way." Asahi sighed.

"I'm sorry guys but lord Hokage assigned these teams himself," he said, "Anyway, now that you all are assigned, meet your Jonin after lunch. Dismissed." I stood up. This is so not fair. Why did I have to be on a team with _her_! This is so not cool.

Suki and I sat down at our hideout. Suki looked irked. She was tapping her foot. I opened my bento box and ate the rice.

"He'll be here," I said.

"He's late," Suki said.

"He's probably talking to Kaida or someone."

"That makes me feel a whole lot better."

"Calm down. You're gonna be on the same team anyway. But me, I'm stuck with the worst person ever." Suki ate her bento, "Why are you so quiet?" Her chopsticks snapped.

"_Kaida_," Suki hissed. I scooted away. Her sharingan was activated.

"Suki, calm down. She probably doesn't even like him. She's too busy sniffing Dai's butt to notice anyone else." Her sharingan went away and she started laughing.

"You're so weird." I laughed with her. I looked at my watch.

"I think we should get back now."

"Okay," She gobbled up the rest of her bento and put it away. We strolled past the dumpling shop and stopped. Kaida and Shinji were sitting at a table together.

"He ditched us to sit with _her_!" Suki yelled.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there," I said, "Let me handle this." I put my angry face on and stormed into the dumpling shop, "Shinji, what the hell is this! You ditched us to come eat with her!" Suki nodded her head furiously.

"It's not what it looks like," Shinji defended.

"Then what is it?" I asked.

"It's just two friends having lunch together."

"Mhm," Suki and I said together. We exchanged glances, "You're coming with us." We both grabbed his arms and locked them with ours.

"Hey!" He yelled, "Let me go. This is such a pain." He looked at Kaida.

"I gotta go," She said, walking away.

"That was easy," Suki said.

"Too easy," I said. We both looked at Shinji and dropped him.

"You guys make my life a living hell," he moaned. Suki and I smiled.

"That's our job!" We cheered.

We walked back to the academy. It was too quiet. Suki was stealing glances at him and he was just staring off into space. I sighed and took out a book. _Romance 101: How to get your man_. Suki gave it to me. She said it's a pretty good book. _Lesson 1: Get close and personal._ I wonder if that works. Hm… I stood really close to Shinji. His face heated up.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing," I said.

"Then why are you so close?" I shrugged.

"No reason." I grabbed his hand. He snatched it away and stuffed it into his pockets. I shoved him, "Jerk."

"What?" I shook my head. Suki glared at me.

"You do it then," I said. She blushed and shook her head. I sighed. My two idiot friends.

Everyone was sitting with their teams. We each had our team number on the table. Kyou looked irked. Kaida looked bored. Dai looked pumped and I looked…blah.

Everyone's Jonin came about two hours ago. Kyou looked really irritated now. Kaida's bored expression looked now ready to rip someone's head off. Dai's smile turned into a frown and I still looked…blah. I took out a different book and started reading it. _A Kunoichi's Strength. _There was a cloud of smoke and then it disappeared revealing a boy with white hair and blue eyes. He had a bored expression on his face.

"Sorry I'm late guys," He said, "I got lost on the path of life."


	3. Chapter 3

Episode 3: The strange Jonin Katashi Hatake

"Uh….Who the heck are you?" I asked.

"Is this guy really our sensei?" Kaida asked. Dai shrugged.

"Hello guys," The mysterious white haired guy said, "My name is Katashi Hatake and I'm your new sensei."

"Kakashi Hatake?" Kaida questioned.

"I thought he retired," Kyou said.

"Yeah, he's old," Dai said. I nodded. An anger mark appeared on his forehead.

"I'm not Kakashi," he said, "And my dad is not _that _old."

"This guy's a joke," I mumbled. Everyone nodded. Another anger mark appeared on his forehead.

"My first impression of you guys," He said, "You're all idiots." We all sweat dropped.

"That wasn't very nice, Katashi," I said. Everyone, but Kyou, nodded.

"You will address me as Katashi sensei," He said.

"Yeah, I don't think so," I said.

"Can we call you Tashi sensei, perhaps?" Kaida asked.

"Or maybe Kat sensei?" Dai asked.

"No," He growled.

"How about we just drop the sensei all together?" I asked.

"Or keep it," He said.

"Nah, I like it. How about you guys?" They all nodded, "There. It's settled. You are now officially Katashi period. Next." He sighed.

"Follow me," He growled. We did. He took us to the training field. He stood upside down on a tree branch and looked at us.

"We'll start by getting to know one another," He started.

"Wow, how did he do that?" Kaida asked, ignoring him.

"I don't know but that was kinda cool," I said. Katashi cleared his throat, "You should drink some water and get that cleared up."

"I wonder where you go to learn something like that," Dai said. Kyou mumbled something under his breath. I heard idiots but that's about all. All of a sudden, lighting struck in front of us. We all screamed.

"What the hell?" I yelled, "You could have…eek!" I jumped back as another lightning bolt struck down.

"Now then," Katashi started, "We'll start by getting to know each other. Any problems with that?" We all shook our heads slowly, "Good. You with the big mouth. Start." Kaida chuckled and lightning gathered at his hands, "Were you going to say something, pooch?" She quickly shook her head.

"What do you want me to talk about?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies. Things like that," He said.

"You should go first."

"Okay. My name is Katashi Hatake. I like training and working out. I hate immature people. My dream for the future is to be a great Jonin like my father. My hobbies are learning new jutsu and perfecting them." My eye twitched.

"Our sensei is a weirdo," I mumbled. Dai and Kaida nodded. Lighting appeared in his hand, "Uh….My name is Ayame Hayashi. I like ramen and reading. I hate dogs and annoying people. My dream for the future is to become Hokage and my hobbies are hanging out with friends and reading."

"Boring," Katashi said, "You. Dog girl. Go." I ground my teeth.

"My name is Kaida Inuzuka. I like dragons and drawing. I hate loud people who don't know how to shut their mouths. My dream for the future is to be one of the greatest ninja ever. My hobbies are drawing, taking walks with my dog and hanging out with friends."

"Lame," Katashi said, "You. Weird boy. Go."

"Hey Kyou," Dai said, "I think he's talking about you."

"Actually, I'm talking about you." Dai growled.

"I am not weird," Katashi gathered lighting in his hands. Dai put his hands up, "Aha, ha, ha, ha. I'm Daitaro Uzumaki. I like learning new jutsu and making friends. I hate people who think they're better than everyone. My dream for the future is to become a great shinobi like my father and his father. My hobbies are training and hanging with friends."

"Dumb," Katashi said. An anger mark appeared on Dai's forehead.

"Not to be rude or anything but you're a jerk," Kaida said. Everyone stepped away from her.

"I'm just telling the truth," Katashi said.

"Just because it's not what you would do doesn't mean it's boring, lame, or dumb."

"Yes it does."

"No it doesn't. It just means we're different than you."

"Moving on, you. Emo kid. Go."

"My name is Kyou Uchiha," Kyou started, "I like silence. I hate loud people. My dream for the future is to become a great shinobi like my father. I don't have any hobbies."

"Lame," We all said simultaneously. Kaida shook her head.

"Good. Now I know you all," Katashi said, "Meet here tomorrow at 5am for your first mission. And don't eat breakfast."

"Wait, you show up two hours late and that's all we do?" Kaida asked. Lightning struck near her.

"Stop complaining and do as I say." He disappeared.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm eating breakfast," I said, "And our sensei is a jerk." I ran away before anyone could say anything. I met Suki and Shinji at the hideout. They both looked up at me.

"You didn't get a mission either?" I asked. They shook their heads.

"We already went on a mission," Suki said, "It was pretty easy."

"No it was troublesome," Shinji said. Suki giggled.

"What did you guys do?" I asked.

"We picked some herbs," Shinji said.

"No, Kanaye, Satomi and I picked herbs," Suki said, "You laid around and complained."

"So why didn't you go on a mission?" Shinji asked, changing the subject.

"My sensei is a jerk," I muttered.

"What do you mean?" Suki and Shinji asked.

"Remember when we were talking about Kanaye's brother?" Suki nodded and Shinji shook his head, "Not you Shinji. Anyway, he's my sensei. He's so not cool."

"Oh," They both said. A bird landed on my shoulder. I took the message from it. It read, 'Come home.' I sighed.

"Okay, I've got to go," I said, "Bye guys." They waved. I started to walk away and then stopped, "Play nice you two." Suki blushed and looked at Shinji.

"So troublesome," Shinji muttered. I giggled and jumped home. I opened the door.

"I'm home!" I called.

"In here," Dad called from the kitchen. I walked in. I stopped when I saw my sister standing in the kitchen. My sister has long dark brown hair that reaches her knees and light brown eyes. She smiled.

"Hello sister," She said.

"REI!" I exclaimed. I ran over to her and squeezed her.

"Did you miss me?" She asked.

"Of course I did! You're my big sister! Why wouldn't I!"

"I don't know. So I hear you're a genin now." I nodded.

"I'm cool now! But not as cool as you. You're an anbu black ops. That's cool but not as cool as Hokage. One day you'll be working for me." She laughed.

"Yeah, one day."

"Mommy," Kin said, coming into the kitchen and rubbing his eyes, "I had a bad dream." My mom kneeled down and scooped my four year old brother up.

"It's okay, sweetie," She said, "I'll go tell you a story."

"Wait," Kin said, "Big sissy is here." He hopped out of mom's arms and jumped into Rei's, "I missed you sissy." He kissed her cheek.

"I missed you too Kin," Rei said.

"What about me Kinny?" I asked. Kin came over to me and hugged my legs.

"I missed you too, sissy," Kin said. I kissed his forehead and then yawned.

"I'm tired. Wanna come sleep with me, Kin?" He nodded. I scooped him up, "Okay. Night mom, dad, Rei. I'll see you all in the morning." Rei nodded and I went to sleep.

The next day, Rei was gone. She left me a note saying she had important business to attend to. I looked at my alarm clock. IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK! Oh man! I'm gonna be late! I quickly got dressed and grabbed a bento box and scarfed it down on my way there. Kaida and Kyou were the only ones there.

"Are you kidding me?" I yelled, "I'm like, a half an hour late and Dai and sensei aren't here! I could've had a better breakfast."

"Oh well," Kyou said. I glared at him. He shrugged and looked at a ninja book. I sighed and took out my book. _Romance For Dummies. _This one was from Shinji. He thought he was so hilarious.

"Why are you reading," Kaida asked me, stretching.

"Because I can," I said.

"Am I late, am I late!" Dai asked, running towards us.

"No," I said, "But our wanna be sensei is."

"I'm beginning to think that Tashi is always going to be late," Kaida said.

"I thought I told you not to call me that," Katashi said, jumping from a tree.

"I like Tashi better."

"How would you like it if I called you mutt butt?"

"I for one would laugh," I said.

"At least my nickname came from your actual name," Kaida said.

"I was trying to prove a point," He said, "If you don't want to be called by that name then I won't call you by it. Can't you respect your sensei's wishes?" We all exchanged glances.

"No," We all said, flatly. He sighed.

"Fine," He said, "I'll make you a deal. If you guys get these bells from me by sunset then you can call me whatever you want. If you don't, then you respect me and listen to me."

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…no," Dai, Kaida and I said. Lighting struck in front of us and we all jumped back, "Okay, okay, okay!"

"That's what I thought." Katashi said. He threw the bells up and caught them, "Alright. We'll begin…now." Kyou, Kaida, and I all jumped and hid in trees. Dai just stood there. He blinked.

"Oh, you meant now," Dai said, "Like right now. Okay." I sweat dropped. He charged at him. He swung at his face but Katashi dodged it and swiped his feet. Dai went spinning across the ground and hit a tree.

"Lesson number one," Katashi started, "Never come at your enemy head on." Dai disappeared, "Oh. A shadow clone. You really are your father's son." Kaida jumped from a tree and did some spinney move. She hit him.

"Lesson number two," Kaida said, "Don't stand in the middle of the field like an idiot." The Katashi that she hit turned into a log. Kaida jumped back into the tree. Kyou looked around.

"I wonder where he is," Kyou mumbled. I looked at him.

"I don't know," I said, shoving him out of the tree, "Maybe you should go find out." Kyou landed on his feet and scanned the area. I chuckled.

"That wasn't very nice," Someone said from behind me. I turned around and Katashi's blue eyes were staring at me.

"Uh, hey sensei," I said, "It's not as bad as it looks. Really. He fell out." He gave me a flat look. I formed a hand sign and disappeared. I breathed out, "I got away."

"Did you?" I screamed and fell out of the tree. I landed on someone.

"Get off!" Dai screamed. I did.

"Sorry, Dai," I said. Dai shook himself off.

"This guy is kind of hard."

"Yeah, not really. He's just sneaky. He's ninja." Dai shook his head.

"I don't know. If we want to get those bells, then we should work together." We heard rumbling nearby. We stealthily ran towards the commotion. Kyou was fighting Katashi.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Kyou yelled. A giant ball of fire came out of his mouth and went towards Katashi. Katashi disappeared and reappeared behind Kyou. Kyou turned around and dodged his attack. Kyou threw shuriken at him. It hit but then poofed into a log. Where did he go? We heard Kaida screaming from behind us.

"Guess he's over there," I whispered.

"No, I'm right here," Katashi said from behind us. Dai and I jumped backwards towards Kyou. We all stood back to back. There were about 20 Katashi's surrounding us. So that's how he gets around so fast. I wonder where the real one is.

"What should we do?" Dai asked.

"We fight of course," Kyou said. We saw a group a Katashi's disappearing. Kaida came out of it and joined us.

"Great," I muttered, "Now we got doggy breath with us."

"Heard that," Kaida said.

"You were meant to."

"Will you two knock it off," Kyou said, "Focus on the task at hand."

"We need to find the real Katashi," I said, "Dai, can you find him?"

"Yeah," Dai said, "Hold on." He activated his Byakugan and looked around, "Found him."

"Where?" Kyou asked.

"Five kilometers north. He's by some grave."

"Alright, I think I know where that's at," I said.

"So we are all taking five Katashi's on," Kyou said. Everyone nodded.

"I got the ones at 6 o'clock," I said.

"I got 12," Kyou said.

"3," Kaida said.

"That leaves me with 9," Dai said. We all jumped at the Katashi's. I took out two kunai and fought them off. One poofed away while the other four started gathering lightning at their hands.

"I'm not falling for that one again," I said. I ran at them and slid underneath their legs. The lightning struck down on them and they all disappeared, "Amateurs." I ran towards where the real Katashi was. Dai, Kyou and Kaida joined me.

We found Katashi standing at a grave and looking down at it. We all stopped.

"What the matter with him?" Dai asked.

"It's like he doesn't even know we're here," I said.

"I wonder if he knows someone who died," Kaida said. Kyou shrugged.

"My mother died a few years back," Katashi said.

"My mother died too," Kaida said. I bit my tongue.

"How did she die?" Dai asked.

"She was sick," Katashi said, "She got Chakra Cancer and passed away."

"What's Chakra cancer?" Dai asked.

"It's a disease that eats away your chakra cells," I said. I looked down at the ground sadly, "My younger sister caught it and died from it. She was only a few days old."

"I didn't know you had a younger sister," Dai said. Kyou looked at me.

"I don't like to talk about it."

"My mom had it for awhile before she died," Kaida said, "She even got pregnant and had a baby boy. A few days after they got home, my mom died. About a week later the baby died." Tears fell down my face. Kyou slung his arm over my shoulders. I looked at him. He was looking away. I wiped my tears away and glared at Katashi.

"We still have time," I said, getting into a fighting stance, "Hand over those bells, Tooshie." Katashi started laughing. Dai and Kyou smirked and got into a fighting stance also. Kaida just stood there, "Come on Inuzuka. Shinobi are supposed to be strong. We're kunoichi and we have to prove to the boys that we're better than them. I can't have a weak rival." I smirked at her. She rolled her eyes and got into a fighting stance, "Good dog." She growled. Katashi turned around.

"I like your fighting spirits," Katashi said, "But do you really think you can beat me?"

"We can if we work together," I said.

"Yeah, we're a team," Dai said.

"We'll fight together till the very end," Kyou said.

"And together we'll beat you for sure," Kaida said.

"Alright then," Katashi said, "Let's see how strong you really are."

It was dark out and everyone was huffing and puffing. We were in a peaceful looking field. Well it was until we started fighting. Now it looked like a battlefield. There were shuriken and kunai everywhere. Trees were toppled over and there were holes in the ground. The bells swayed back and forth in Katashi's hand.

"Looks like I win," He said, "But you guys put up a good fight."

"We…can still…fight," I wheezed. I stood up. Katashi put his index finger up to my forehead and pushed me back down.

"I don't think so." He sighed, "You guys look like crap."

"Well…thanks Tashi," Kaida breathed. Katashi rested his foot on her stomach.

"The deal was you would respect me," He said.

"Y…you knew….we weren't…going to listen."

"Yeah, but that still didn't take the fun out of beating you up. At least you've gained a little respect for me. We'll work on the rest tomorrow."

"What..do you…mean?" Dai asked.

"I mean we have another mission tomorrow," He said, "Meet at the Hokage Mansion at noon. Don't be late." He disappeared. I slumped down in the grass.

"I don't know about you guys," I said, "But I'm coming at two."

"Why?" Dai asked.

"Cause he's always late," Kyou said. We all sat up.

"It was nice working with you guys," I said, "The new team seven is gonna kick ass!"

"After today I'd say that those last few words need to be switched around." Everyone started laughing. I smiled at everyone.

"See you tomorrow guys," I said, standing up. Everyone else stood.

"Yeah, whatever," Kyou said. He jumped away. Kaida stretched.

"I'll see you guys later," She said, running away. Me and Dai went our separate ways.

I went home. Mom, dad, and Kin were sitting in the living room watching TV. Naruto was talking about some issues going on. I think it was something about the Hidden Rain, Grass, and Sound. I tuned it out and sat next to my parents.

"Hey sweetie," Mom said, "How was your mission?"

"It sucked," I said, "We got our butts handed to us."

"I see that," She lifted Kin off of her lap and went to the bathroom. Kin poked my cheek and it hurt.

"You have purple on your face," He said. I swatted his hand away.

"Don't touch it," I whined. Kin giggled and sat on my lap.

"I can't wait till I'm a great ninja like you, sis." I scratched my cheek.

"Yeah, you'll have to wait a few years until you're as good as me." Dad chuckled.

"The way you look, I'd say you aren't very good," he said. I glared at him.

"At least I'm going to be Hokage. You're a lowly chunin who teaches at the academy."

"I'm important. If it weren't for people like me, people like you wouldn't become genin." I stuck my tongue out at him. Mom came back with some ointments. I squirmed away.

"Don't come near me," I whined. Dad held me down. Mom giggled and started rubbing it on my bruises. It stung really badly. I winced.

"It's not that bad," She said. Kin laughed.

"I wanna help too," he said. I glared at him.

"Traitor!" I hissed. They all started putting ointment on me.

An hour later, I was nearly healed up. I went into my room and fell onto my bed. Being a ninja is harder than I thought. Oh well. I closed my eyes and went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Episode 4: The Second Mission

I yawned. I was sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal in front of me. I stared down at it and then looked at Kin. He was happily eating his cereal. I leaned across the table.

"Why are you so happy?" I asked. He smiled at me.

"I get to go the academy today," Kin said.

"Why?"

"I'm going to work with Daddy."

"Oh," I sat back in my chair, "Fun." Kin gobbled up his food and put the bowl in the sink. Dad walked out.

"Ready Kin?" He asked. Kin nodded. He waved me goodbye and followed dad out the door. I sighed and started eating my cereal. This house is so boring when no one's home. I heard a knock at the door and jumped over to it. It was Suki.

"So I hear your sensei beat you up pretty bad," Suki said, walking in. I sweat dropped.

"Kyou told you, didn't he?"

"Yep," She looked around, "Where is everyone?"

"Work."

"I see, I see." She sat down on the couch, "I hear you're also going on a mission today." I sat down next to her.

"Your brother just can't keep his mouth shut can he?" She giggled.

"Guess not." She hit me with a pillow, "Wipe that look off your face."

"What look?"

"The one where you're deep in thought. Thinking doesn't look good on you."

"Ha, ha, ha," I hit her with a pillow, "Very funny." We both giggled, "So how are you and Shinji? Any confessions yet?" She blushed.

"No, we don't even talk like that. We're just friends." I narrowed my eyes.

"Mhm. So you didn't kiss him yet?" She shoved me off the couch.

"NO!" I stood up and laughed.

"Calm down. I was just joking."

"You shouldn't say things like that." I giggled.

"I have to get going soon. We're supposed to meet our sensei at two."

"Kyou told me noon."

"Yeah, well our sensei's late all the time so I'm not standing around for two hours." She narrowed her eyes.

"Isn't that what you're doing right now?" I waved it away.

"No, I'm sitting." She rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I have to go too. My sensei is probably waiting for me."

"You came here instead of meeting your sensei. You little rebel." She playfully shoved me.

"Hardy, har, har. No. Your house was on the way so I stopped by. Just because we're on different teams doesn't mean we can't visit each other." I suddenly felt sad.

"Yeah. We can't see each other as much." We both stared at each other sadly. Then we hugged each other and anime cried.

"I miss you so much!" We both cried. We pulled away from each other.

"We have to promise each other that we'll stay contacted," I said. She nodded.

"We have to make time for our friendship," She said. I nodded. We both wiped our eyes and got serious.

"Alright," I started, "Mission time."

"I'll see you later," Suki said, leaving. I grabbed my pouch and put it on. Then I locked the door and ran to the Hokage Mansion. Everyone was waiting besides Katashi of course.

"Man, I'm two hours late and he's still not here," I complained.

"At least you didn't come here early," Dai said, "I've been waiting for four hours. I got bored and went and talked to my dad. That's how bored I was."

"But your dad is awesome."

"I know but not when he's sitting there doing paperwork. Talk about boring."

"Yeah, I guess." Kyou was just staring off into space. I poked his cheek. He glared at me.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing," I said. I poked his cheek again, "Did you know you have really squishy cheeks." I poked it again. He slapped my hand away.

"Stop that." I sighed and sat down on a bench. I took out one of my books. It was called _Marriage Between Two Shinobi._

"Why do you keep reading weird books like that?" Kyou asked.

"They're not weird. They're romance books."

"In other words, they're weird."

"They're weird to you because you don't believe in romance. You're going to die sad and alone."

"As long as I'm not with you, I'll be happy." I stuck my tongue out at him and continued reading my book.

_"This relationship isn't working," Rin said, holding back tears, "We barely see each other anymore. It's tearing me apart." Rin grabs her chest in pain, "I think it would be better if we got a divorce." Katsu gasped._

_"But…we've been together for so long," He said, "I love you so much Rin." He grabbed her hands and she looked away, "I don't want to lose you." Tears started streaming down her cheeks._

_"We're two shinobi who are very important to our villages. We barely see each other. We can't possibly make this relationship work."_

_"But Rin…"_

_"No… I can't hold you back. You must continue to be a shinobi."_

_"What do you mean? Are you saying you're going to quit being a shinobi?"_

_"I have no choice. I'm…"_

"Is everyone ready to get started," Katashi asked. Oh, he would show up when the book is getting good. He looked at me. I put my book away and stood up.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready," I said. We followed him to the Hokage's office. Naruto was sleeping on his desk. We all sweat dropped. Dai coughed. Naruto sat up.

"I wasn't sleeping!" He exclaimed. We all narrowed our eyes at him. Dai face palmed.

"Dad, you were sleeping," Dai said.

"I was?" We all nodded our heads, "Okay then. I'm sorry. Are you guys here for your mission?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Katashi said. Look at him being all respectful.

"What kind of mission should I give you?" He started looking through files, "Oh here's one. Mrs. Nakamura has lost her dog. You guys can go find it."

"Sounds great, Lord Hokage," Katashi had a fake smile on his face. I bet he wants a better mission.

"That's lame!" Dai said, "I want a better mission!"

"But you guys just became genin two days ago," Naruto said, "You can't expect to get any better than a D rank mission."

"D rank missions are for weaklings. We're not weaklings."

"Yeah, but son…"

"Naruto," I started. Katashi gave me an irritated look. I ignored him, "Remember when you were a genin and you wanted a better mission? The Third Hokage gave in and gave you a C rank. Can we at least have one of those?" Naruto gave everyone an intense stare down. Then he sighed and looked through some more files.

"Here's a C rank mission," he started, "Escort a woman to the Village Hidden in the Rain."

"Sounds easy enough," Dai said.

"But as you all know, we are currently having problems with the Hidden Rain, Grass and Sound. Please be cautious."

"No problem, pops!" Dai exclaimed.

"Yeah, we'll be fine," I said.

"Hn," Kyou muttered.

"We will complete this mission for sure!" Kaida exclaimed. Naruto smiled.

"I believe in you," He said, "You'll find your client at the hot springs."

"Alright," Katashi said, "We'll get started right away." He turned to us, "Ready?" We all nodded.

We were all standing outside of the hot springs. Dai had a confused look on his face. Kyou looked indifferent. Katashi looked bored. Kaida and I looked irritated.

"So which one of you are going in there?" Katashi asked Kaida and I.

"Why do we have to do it?" I asked.

"Because you're girls, idiots," Kyou muttered.

"What did I do?" Kaida asked.

"Yeah, we can't go in there," Dai pointed out.

"Sure you can," Kaida said, "Use a transformation jutsu." Dai thought about it.

"You're right!" he exclaimed. He formed the necessary hand sign to transform, "Tran…!" Katashi stopped him.

"No Daitaro," He said, "You're not going in there." Dai frowned. Katashi looked at me, "Go, Ayame."

"What?" I exclaimed, "Why me?"

"Because I said so." We stared at each other for a long moment and then I threw my hands up in defeat.

"Fine! But if I die I'm haunting you!" He shrugged. I turned on my heels and went towards the hot springs. I stopped when a woman came out. She had really long dark blue hair that reached just past her knees. Her eyes were silver. She had nothing on but a blue bathing suit and towel in her hands. She had a smile on her face as she saw us. All of the boys in our group blushed. Kaida and I rolled our eyes.

"You guys must be the ninja they hired to escort me," She said, "My name is Kasumi Murakami and I am a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rain."

"Uh….question," Dai started, "If you're a ninja, then why do you need an escort?" She walked over to him and patted his head.

"That's a good question, cutie," She said, causing his blush to grow, "I'll explain in detail once we get to a quiet and secure place. Follow me." We followed her to a small cottage just outside of the village. She excused herself so she could change and came out about ten minutes later. She was wearing an outfit that wasn't that much better than her bikini. It was a grey v-neck, sleeveless shirt and black shorts. Her headband was tied around her thigh.

"Alright," she started, "We'll begin. As you know, there are problems between the Hidden Rain and the Hidden Leaf."

"The Hidden Rain is accusing the Hidden Leaf of assassinating its leader," Katashi said, "Our Hokage did defeat Pain, the leader of the Rain, after he destroyed the Hidden Leaf." Kasumi nodded.

"That's true. There are people in my village who think that your Hokage assassinated our leader and they want revenge. You're Hokage has proved he was sorry by giving our people shelter and food. But there are still some who wish to see him dead." Dai slammed his hand down.

"That's not right!" Dai said, "My dad did everything to make sure there was peace between the Rain and Leaf! They can't just…" I put my hand on his shoulder and shook my head. He calmed down.

"There is always going to be hatred in the world," Kyou said, "No matter how hard one tries to defeat it." I nodded my head in agreement.

"So what do you have to do with all of this?" Katashi asked. Kasumi stared down at the floor.

"I'm one of the few who are grateful to the Hokage and want peace between our nations."

"And what is our part in this?"

"I want you to escort me back to the Hidden Rain. I've received some important documents from your Hokage that may get rid of the hostilities."

"So all this is, is an escort mission?" I asked. She nodded, "That's not cool." Kasumi bowed down.

"Will you please do me the pleasure of being my escorts?" All of the boys blushed again. Kaida and I exchanged glances, glared at each other, and then turned away.

"Of course we will," Katashi said. Kasumi sat up.

"Thank you all very much."

"No need to thank us," I said, "We already accepted the mission." Kasumi smiled and nodded.

"Before we go," she started. We all looked at her, "In my village it rains nearly all the time. You may want to bring a raincoat." We all nodded.

The next day, we were all walking down the road silently. Dai's eyes flickered back and forth looking for an enemy. Of course nothing happened. Nothing exciting ever happens on a C rank mission. Kaida was doing something with her dog. I don't know what. It must be a dog thing. Kyou was looking bored as usual. This guy needs a life. Katashi was looking straight ahead probably wishing he could've gotten a better mission. Kasumi was looking nervous for some reason. I am getting bored so I took out another book and started reading it.

"Shouldn't we all be keeping a look out for danger?" Dai asked, realizing he was the only one taking this mission seriously.

"What danger?" I asked.

"The most dangerous thing here is poison ivy," Kaida said, looking around, "And I see a lot of that."

"This is a C rank mission Daitaro," Katashi said, "We won't be seeing much action unless a robber or thief crosses our path." Dai frowned.

"Oh," he said.

"What did you expect, loser?" Kyou asked. Dai glared at him.

"I don't know! Maybe strong ninja that I could fight and show them the strength of the Uzumaki clan!"

"What strength?" Dai got in Kyou's face.

"You wanna fight?"

"Doesn't matter to me." I sighed and hit both of them with my book.

"Grow up you two!" I yelled. They both rubbed their heads and glared at me, "We're on a mission. You should be taking this seriously."

"Says the girl who's reading a book," Kaida muttered. I sent her a dirty look and then turned to Katashi.

"And you! Why aren't you trying to stop them?" He shrugged.

"It provided entertainment," he said.

"You're the worst sensei ever!" Kasumi laughed nervously.

"Now, now," she started, "We don't need to fight, children." Katashi looked depressed. I guess he is technically still a child. I mean he is only 16 and she's…what? 19?

"Hey Kasumi," I started. She looked at me, "How old are you?"

"21," she said, "Why do you ask?" I shrugged.

"Just wondering." She looks really young for someone of her age. It suddenly started raining. Everyone put their hoods on.

"Are we in the Rain Country already?" Kaida asked.

"No," Katashi said, looking around, "We still have two days to go."

"Maybe its just bad weather," I said.

"Or maybe we're under attack!" Dai yelled, taking out his kunai.

"I doubt it," I muttered. Katashi looked unfazed.

"Nothings happening," He said, "Just remain cal…." In the blink of an eye, the rain started surrounding Katashi and locked him in a large bubble.

"Sensei!" We all yelled. He banged on the bubble.

"You guys, protect Kasumi!" He yelled. We turned to Kasumi. She was frantically searching around. Everyone took out kunai. I scanned the area. There's nothing out of the ordinary.

"I'll check it out," Dai said, activating his byakugan, "Aw man. This rain has chakra infused in it and it's messing up my vision." The rain froze in the air.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Be careful!" Kasumi yelled. The rain drops started shaping into little needles.

"Everyone, look out!" Kyou yelled. We all started dodging the rain needles.

"Where are these attacks coming from?" I yelled.

"Everywhere!" Dai yelled, "They're coming from all directions!"

"No shit, loser!" Kyou yelled.

"Just get out of here!" Katashi yelled. All of a sudden his bubble started to shrink. I heard a snapping sound and then the water turned red. I covered my mouth and looked away. The rain started to gather together. Two girls and one boy appeared. They all had Hidden Rain headbands on. One girl had short, dark blue hair and the other had long dark blue hair in a ponytail. The boy had spiky blue hair.

"Now that the Jonin is out of the way," the short haired girl started.

"We can take care of these small fry," the girl with the ponytail finished.

"What a bunch of cowards," Kaida said, "You have to get rid of a Jonin so you can take out little kids. Real ninja would've taken us all on at once."

"What do you know about real ninja?" the guy asked, "You guys are mere genin. Fresh out of the academy by the looks of it." I pointed at him.

"But we are real ninja!" I yelled, "And we can beat you without our loser sensei!"

"Trash talking isn't a good way to get out of this," Kyou muttered.

"Yeah!" Dai yelled, "We can take you! No sweat!" Kasumi stepped in front of us.

"You haven't taken out all of the Jonin," she said. We all looked at her.

"You don't count," the guy said.

"Our boss said," the short haired one started.

"That you are not to be harmed," ponytail finished.

"That's getting annoying," I mumbled. Dai nodded. Water gathered at Kasumi's hands and transformed into a sword.

"I won't let you harm these children!" She yelled. She charged at them. I looked around.

"We can't just sit here!" I yelled, "Let's help." They nodded and we joined her. The three enemies joined hands. And then I forgot what I was doing. I looked around. I was in a beautiful meadow. Kaida and Kasumi were there too. I walked over to them.

"Where are we?" I asked. Kasumi looked around.

"This place is so beautiful," she said. I joined her in her awe. This place was beautiful. A trail of roses appeared in front of us. We all started moving down them. My body was moving on its own and I felt myself starting to feel anxious like I knew what was waiting up ahead.

We came to a small lake. In the middle of the lake was a house floating on the water. We made our way to it. Once closer, the front door opened and a man stepped out.

"Hello my beautiful guests," A man with dark blue hair said. He looks…familiar. His sparkling grey eyes brought a blush to my face, "Did you enjoy your little walk?"

"Yes," We all breathed. He grabbed my hand and kissed it and then he kissed Kasumi's and then Kaida's. Seeing him kiss their hands made me feel angered. I felt betrayed somehow.

"My beautiful girls," he started, "Let's have fun inside."

"But aren't we too young for you?" I asked.

"No, you are gorgeous women," he said, "Look at yourselves." A mirror slid in front of me and Kaida. I looked about ten years older. I looked over at Kaida and she did too, "Now come. We have many fun games in store for you." We followed him inside. It was pitch black. It seemed like we were walking in empty space. But then the darkness turned into a living room. He sat down in the only chair.

"How about we start with introductions?" He asked. He looked at Kasumi, "I know who you are already. So, let's start with the girl with black hair."

"My name is Kaida Inuzuka," She said.

"And what do you like to do for fun, Kaida?"

"I like to draw and play with my puppy." He smiled.

"That sounds like fun," He turned to me, "How about you?"

"My name is Ayame Hayashi," I said, "And I like to read and train."

"Are you strong, Ayame?"

"I think so." My mind felt all fuzzy and I just couldn't not answer his questions.

"How strong?"

"However strong you want me to be." He smiled again.

"I guess it's fair for me to tell you my name. My name is Masaru Sasaki." He smiled widely, "And we're going to play a fun game. Do you want to know what it is?"

"Yes," we all said.

"Ayame….and Kaida," he started, "I want you two to fight."

"Why?" we asked.

"Because the winner gets a kiss." We both exchanged glances. I really want that kiss. I gulped and took out a kunai. She took one out too.

"No…" Kasumi whispered. But it was too late. Kaida and I were already charging at each other. Then everything went black and I figured I was dead. But then I heard a crackling sound and a loud scream.

My vision came back to me. I heard high pitched singing and still the crackling sound. I looked in front of me and Kaida was holding a kunai to my neck and I was holding one to hers.

"Move away from each other," someone ordered. We instantly did. The crackling died down and I finally looked around me. Katashi's hand was running though Masaru's chest. Masaru coughed up blood. Then his eyes fogged and his body slumped. I felt a sudden urge to go to him but then it died quickly, "He used genjutsu," Katashi said, removing his hand from Masaru's chest. He sent us a bloody glare. Kaida and I gasped. His red eyes turned back blue and he smiled at us, "Sorry. Sometimes my anger gets the best of me. Are you two alright?"

"I thought you died," I said.

"How did you…." Kaida started, "How did you survive that?" He scratched his head.

"I thought someone was tracking us so I used a Blood clone," he said.

"Blood clone?" I questioned.

"I'll explain later. Right now Daitaro and Kyou are in the same boat you two were," he sent a look at Kasumi, "You have some explaining to do." She nodded slowly. The singing turned into a sad little shrieking sound and then intensified. Katashi covered his ears

"What is that?" Kaida asked.

"They're trying to lure him into their genjutsu," Kasumi said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The Sasaki triplets are a very well known group in my village. They are called Sirens."

"Sirens? As in woman who lure men to them with their voice?" She nodded.

"I thought Sirens are supposed to be beautiful," Kaida said. I shook my head at her attempt to make a joke during this seriousness.

"Just hurry up and kill them already!" Katashi yelled, "I can't hold off much longer." I started to feel panicked. We're genin. We can't go up against S class shinobi. Kasumi put her hand on Kaida and my shoulder.

"You two can do it," she encouraged, "I believe in you. I'll do my best to help here. I'll hold off the genjutsu long enough for you to save your friends." She started doing some hand signs and then went limp. I caught her and laid her on the ground. The singing intensified. I had to cover my ears.

"What now?" I yelled over the singing.

"I don't know!" She yelled back. I took in a deep breath and took out a kunai.

"We fight." She nodded and we took off towards the source of the noise.

In a clearing not far off from where we were, Dai and Kyou were standing up in a dazed fashion. The two woman from earlier were there also. One of them was singing their butt off. The other was circling the boys.

"They're here," the one circling said. I took it she knew we were here so I threw a kunai. She easily dodged them and returned fire. Kaida and I both dodged them and jumped down into the meadow to face her, "I take it that you two are the brats who killed Masaru. How did you get out of his genjutsu?"

"We had a little help from our sensei," I said. The woman frowned.

"That explains why Kazuko had to intensify the genjutsu. She found another play thing." I threw a kunai at Kazuko. The other woman blocked it with some sort of water shield, "Don't mess with my sister, little girls!" She started forming hand signs, "Water Style: Hidden Rain jutsu." It started pouring again. Everything became harder to see through the thick rain. The singing became muffled and became hard to tell which direction it was coming from. Kaida sniffed the air.

"I can't smell anything," she said. I felt a sharp sting on my cheek. I touched it instinctively and pulled my fingers back. They had blood on it.

"We're under attack," I said. Kaida and I both drew kunai. I heard Kaida hiss in pain as more sharp needles hit us. I tried my best to fight them off but it was hard to tell where they were coming from. The needles were mixed with the rain.

Another wave of needles hit us. I fell to my knees as more and more hit me. The pain was too much to bare but I had to try.

"Don't die yet, loser," Kaida said, helping me to my feet, "We can do this. We just have to focus." I nodded and gained my balance.

"Focus," I said, closing my eyes. I could hear the sound of needles bouncing off of something. I opened my eyes and saw needles bouncing off of an invisible barrier. Where did that come from? The other woman materialized in front of us. She tapped on the barrier.

"A barrier jutsu, huh?" She said, smoothing her hand over it, "Nothing we can't handle." She looked at Kazuko, "It's about time." She disappeared again and reappeared next to Kazuko. She suddenly started singing. As she started, Kazuko stopped.

"Thanks, Honoka," Kazuko said, "I can handle these brats." She started forming hand signs, "Water style: Water Javelin." She took a step back and threw it at us. The javelin hit the barrier and burst into water. Then the water droplets started going inside of the barrier.

"Oh no," Kaida said, "Move!" She shoved me to the ground right as the droplets turned into little javelins. They pierced Kaida's back and she screamed out in pain. Kaida fell limp over me.

"Kaida?" I shook her lightly, "Kaida! Wake up!" She didn't move but she was still breathing. I glared at Kazuko.

"Aw, I'm sorry," she started, "Is your little friend dead? That's revenge for Masaru." I turned back to Kaida and started forming hand signs.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" I yelled. Two clones of myself appeared, "Put up a barrier around us." They nodded and put up a barrier.

"You think this pathetic little excuse for a barrier can stop me? Ha! I'll show you." She formed more hand signs and needles started raining down on the barrier. They bounced off. Kazuko made a growling sound and continued with the jutsu.

"Okay," I breathed, "Remember what Sakura taught you." I took a deep breath and put my hands on Kaida's chest. Green chakra formed on my hands and I began healing her. Please let this work. She coughed up blood and her eyes slowly opened.

"I didn't know you were a medic," she said.

"I only know a little, mutt." She smirked and stood up.

"I'm fine. Conserve your chakra. You're gonna need it in this battle." I nodded. We both looked at her, "How are we going to beat them?" Haru barked. We looked at him. He started making dog noises and Kaida nodded. Weird, "I see! That's such a good idea! Good boy!" She rubbed his neck.

"I don't speak dog. Mind translating?" She nodded and started whispering the plan in my ear, "Now I understand! Your dog's not so dumb after all." We looked at Kazuko right as the barrier started cracking. My clones disappeared and Kazuko laughed.

"I told you that excuse couldn't stop me!" she laughed, "Now die!" More needles rained down on us. We took the attacks and ran at her. She huffed and formed two water javelins. Before she could throw them, Kaida and I threw down smoke pellets, "Clever." She threw the javelins and they came hurtling towards us. We dodged them and emerged from the smoke. Kazuko growled and formed hand signs. More needles started to rain down. I ducked down and let the needles hit me. I heard a poofing sound and smiled. She fell for it.

"What? A shadow clone! Where's the real one?" Kazuko exclaimed.

"Dragon fang over fang!" I heard Kaida yell. There was a loud shriek. I looked up. Honoka was face down in a puddle full of bloody water.

"NOOOO!" Kazuko yelled. She disappeared and reappeared next to her sister. She scooped her up and glared at me and Kaida, "How? When?" She gasped and deepened her glare, "You made the clone in the smoke and she snuck around. But I don't get it. Why didn't you both use a clone?"

"I only had enough chakra for one," I coughed. Kaida ran over and helped me to my feet.

"You used too much chakra," she said. Kazuko laughed. We both turned to look at her.

"You think you've won?" She yelled, "Ha! You haven't seen the last of us!" They both disappeared into a puddle of water.

"They're gone," Kaida said.

"Yeah," I said, "I wonder…" Kaida dropped me and I landed face down onto the ground.

"Taro!" Kaida yelled. I looked up and Dai and Kyou were both conscious. Kaida hugged Dai to her chest, "You're okay. Thank god!"

"Yeah, yeah," Dai said, "I'm fine. Where's Katashi sensei and Ayame?" Kyou saw me laying down and walked over. He helped me to my feet and slung my arm over his shoulder.

"You look like crap," he said.

"You always do," I said. He smirked and then Dai tackled me into a hug, knocking the air out of my lungs.

"You're alive!" He yelled, "I had a horrible dream that you died!" I blushed and then shoved him off.

"You're about to kill me, Dai," I commented. He laughed nervously and scratched his cheek. Kaida walked over.

"I almost died too, ya know," she said. He looked from me to her.

"What happened to you guys? You look like you just fought off a powerful enemy."

"They did," someone said from behind us. We all looked back. Kasumi was helping Katashi walk, "Ayame and Kaida took on two S class shinobi. And by the look of things, they defeated them."

"Actually, they both escaped," I said, "But one of them was fatally wounded." Katashi nodded.

"You're both beat up pretty badly. We'll rest here for the night and get moving in the morning." We all nodded. Kasumi sat Katashi down on the ground.

"I'll get a fire started," Kasumi said. She walked into the forest. I sat down on the ground and breathed out.

"Finally!" I breathed, "A break!" Kyou shook his head and sat down next to me.

"You're hurt," he said. I looked at him. He was staring off into the forest, "Here." He shoved some ointment into my hands, "My mom made it for emergencies." I stared at him, "What?"

"Kyou…"

"Don't get girly on me." I hugged him.

"Aw. You do care!" He tried to shove me off of him.

"Get off of me, Ayame." I laughed and moved away from him.

"Thank you, Kyou-Kyou." He blushed and looked away.

"Whatever." I opened the ointment and started rubbing it on my cuts. It stung. I looked over at Katashi. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily. I scooted over to him. I just stared at him for a moment.

"What do you want, Ayame?" he asked, irritated.

"Nothin'," I said, "Is something wrong? I mean, are you hurt?" He sighed.

"I exerted too much chakra. Its nothing I can't handle."

"Everyone has their limits, sensei." Kasumi came back with firewood. She set up the fire and lit it. I moved in closer, "Ah, nice and toasty." Kasumi sat on the other side of Katashi.

"You have some explaining to do," he said. She nodded slowly.

"To begin with, I'm the leader of the Rain." Kaida, Dai and I gasped.

"Figures," Kyou mumbled.

"I had my suspicions," Katashi said. Kasumi nodded.

"I believe that your Hokage was doing the right thing. Our people attacked your village. I would have done the same in his position. But in the end our leader chose to put his faith into your Hokage, so I chose to do the same," she explained, "There's only a handful of people in the Rain who share the same views as me." Her face turned serious, "Those three that you faced were most likely hired by the leader of the Resistance."

"Resistance?" Dai questioned, "I heard dad talking about that. He said they were plotting on taking down our village." She nodded again.

"That's correct. But as the new leader of the Village Hidden in the Rain, I want peace between our nations. My village has seen many hardships and have suffered from starvation and war. I want to stop the hostilities and bring peace to the shinobi world."

"Did Lord Hokage know you were the leader?" Katashi asked. She shook her head.

"I've kept my identity a secret in order to negotiate a treaty among the nations."

"So how did they know you were the leader?" I asked. Kasumi sighed.

"Sadly, I grew up with those three. We were orphaned at a young age and they became my family. They used to have the same views as me. We wanted a peaceful world. Our leader, Pain, promised that. We began to have faith in his words. But when your Hokage killed him, everyone's hope died. We all plotted to take revenge on your village. But Mistress Konan talked to everyone and told us what happened. Some chose to believe in her words, and others, well, you know." Katashi closed his eyes.

"This mission just changed from a C to an S. We're protecting a leader from a hostile group. My team can't handle this. We're going to have to go back to the village."

"What do you mean we can't handle this!" I yelled, "Didn't you just see what we did? Kaida and I just took out those people by ourselves. I mean, you helped a little, but still! We can handle anything as long as we're all together!" Katashi looked at everyone.

"We already made it this far!" Kaida yelled, "It wouldn't make sense to go back now."

"Yeah!" Dai yelled, "I haven't had the chance to show the Uzumaki strength yet!"

"What strength?" Kyou asked, "But I have to agree with these guys. It would be a waste of time to go back." Katashi sighed.

"My team is full of idiots," he breathed. He turned serious, "Very well then. We'll continue with the mission. If that's fine with you, Lady Kasumi." She nodded, "Alright. We'll leave first thing in the morning."


End file.
